Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Raises Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its Mastercard stake by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,300 additional shares and bringing its total to 169,325 shares valued at about $96.7 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 97.28% of Mastercard’s shares. Several other investors also modestly increased their positions during the period.
• Mastercard reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.60 versus estimates of $4.41 and revenue of $8.40 billion, while analysts currently maintain a consensus Buy rating with a $656.04 price target.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 169,325 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.8% of Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Mastercard were worth $96,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 20.0% during the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thomasville National Bank boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $656.04.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3%

Mastercard stock opened at $493.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $436.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $480.50 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $501.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $527.80.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard received a New York BitLicense, strengthening its ability to pursue regulated digital asset, stablecoin, and blockchain payment initiatives. Mastercard Granted New York State Department of Financial Services BitLicense
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and commentary pieces highlighted Mastercard as a potential beneficiary of inflation and currency debasement trends, pointing to its high-margin payments model and durable global network. Mastercard: The Perfect Hedge Against Currency Debasement And Inflation
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s upcoming conference appearances keep management visible to investors, but these events are unlikely to move the stock on their own. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also presented at Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference, which may offer strategic updates but does not appear to include a major new catalyst. Mastercard Incorporated (MA) Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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